Table of Contents

+ Add to Library

Previous Next

Chapter 7

  • Sienna’s breath caught in her throat.
  • She didn’t move or blink.
  • At the end of the hallway, just past the nurses’ station, a man stood half-shadowed in the doorway. He wasn’t wearing a uniform or holding a clipboard. He wasn’t pretending to be a doctor or a visitor either.
  • He just stood there, tall, still, watching her.
  • And when her eyes met his, he didn’t flinch.
  • He turned and walked away.
  • Like he wanted her to follow or like he didn’t care if she did.
  • “Adrian,” Sienna said quickly, turning—but he wasn’t there anymore.
  • She stepped out of the room, glancing left and right. Nothing. He must’ve taken a different hallway.
  • Her fingers tightened around the flash drive in her pocket. She didn’t know why, but every part of her body was warning her not to go after the man. So she didn’t.
  • She turned and walked fast in the opposite direction.
  • She took the elevator down to the lobby, pulled her coat tighter around her body, and sat on a bench. Two guards were posted outside. Neither one looked in.
  • Ten minutes passed.
  • Then fifteen.
  • She was starting to think Adrian had left without her—again.
  • Then suddenly, his voice came from beside her.
  • “Why did you go into the records room?”
  • She jumped. He was just there, no footsteps. Just appearing like he always did.
  • “I didn’t,” she lied.
  • He raised an eyebrow.
  • Sienna’s mouth was dry. “Okay. Fine, I did. But only for a second.”
  • “I told you to wait.”
  • “I wasn’t doing anything wrong.”
  • “You were using a public computer.”
  • He sat down beside her, back straight, voice low. She couldn’t tell if he was angry or just… disappointed.
  • “I needed to see the files,” she said.
  • “You could’ve waited for me.”
  • “Why? So you could tell me another half-truth, no, please?”
  • Adrian turned to face her. “You think you’re the only one who’s lost someone, huh ?”
  • Sienna looked down; her hands were shaking.
  • “No,” she whispered. “I think I’m the only one who still doesn’t understand why.”
  • Adrian didn’t say anything for a while. Then, he stood up. “Come on. We’re leaving.”
  • She followed.
  • The car was already waiting by when they stepped outside. The driver opened the back door, and they both got in. Neither spoke for the first part of the ride.
  • Finally, Sienna broke the silence. “What key were you talking about?”
  • Adrian didn’t answer.
  • “You said someone broke into your father’s study. You said something was taken. What key?”
  • He turned toward her, slowly. “There was a safe in his study. He never let anyone open it. Not even me.”
  • “What was inside?”
  • “I don’t know.”
  • “But now it’s gone.”
  • He nodded once. “Yes.”
  • Sienna looked out the window. “You think it’s connected to what happened to your uncle?”
  • “I don’t believe in coincidences,” Adrian said quietly.
  • Neither did she.
  • Sienna shifted in her seat, uncomfortable. “ who else knows what’s in the safe?”
  • “Just him.”
  • “And whoever took it.”
  • Adrian didn’t respond. He was already thinking two steps ahead. She could tell.
  • She leaned back. The flash drive felt heavy in her pocket.
  • “Are we going back to the penthouse?”
  • “No,” Adrian said. “Not yet.”
  • “Then where—?”
  • “You’re going to meet someone.”
  • Sienna frowned. “Who?”
  • “My father’s lawyer.”
  • Her stomach dropped. “Why?”
  • “Because he needs to see you.”
  • The building was downtown. Sleek glass, security guards, and private elevators. Adrian didn’t speak the entire ride up.
  • They entered a dark-paneled office. A man in his sixties stood up behind a large desk. Gray hair, clean suit, tired eyes. He looked like someone who had kept too many secrets for too long.
  • “Miss Hale,” he said with a nod. “Thank you for coming.”
  • Sienna glanced at Adrian, then back at the man. “You wanted to see me?”
  • “Yes. Sit, please.”
  • She did.
  • Adrian stood behind her, silent.
  • The lawyer opened a file on his desk and slid it toward her.
  • “Your father had a clause in his will. It was only to be activated if certain conditions were met.”
  • “What conditions?”
  • He looked at Adrian. Then back at her.
  • “If the Blackwell estate came under threat. If Thomas Blackwell was attacked. If confidential files were accessed.”
  • Sienna’s chest tightened.
  • “All of that just happened,” the lawyer said.
  • Sienna looked down at the file. “What’s in it?”
  • “A letter,” he said. “From your father. To you.”
  • Adrian stepped forward. “I’ve never seen this.”
  • “You weren’t supposed to.”
  • The lawyer opened the file. Pulled out an envelope. It was old. Sealed. Her name was handwritten across the front.
  • Her fingers trembled as she reached for it.
  • Inside was one piece of paper.
  • She unfolded it.
  • Sienna,
  • If you’re reading this, then everything I feared has already begun.
  • I couldn’t stop them. I tried. But the system runs too deep.
  • They buried us. They buried the truth. But you can still dig it up.
  • Go to the place we used to visit in the summers. The cabin by the lake, behind the fireplace, is the ledger.
  • It has everything.
  • And Sienna… trust no one.
  • Not even the man sitting behind you.
  • –Dad
  • Sienna read the last line twice.
  • Then a third time.
  • Her hands went numb.
  • She looked up slowly.
  • Adrian was already watching her.
  • He said nothing.
  • Her voice barely came out. “You knew about the cabin?”
  • “No.”
  • “You didn’t know about the ledger?”
  • “No.”
  • “But you knew something was missing. Something they’d hidden.”
  • “Yes.”
  • Sienna folded the letter and put it back in the envelope.
  • The lawyer cleared his throat. “There’s one more thing.”
  • Adrian looked at him sharply.
  • But the man didn’t flinch. “Your father set up an account. In your name. It’s been untouched for years. But now that the clause has been activated… it’s yours.”
  • “What kind of account?”
  • The man pushed over another folder.
  • Sienna opened it.
  • Inside were banking records, balances, and transfers.
  • The amount at the bottom made her feel sick.
  • Forty million dollars.
  • Her voice was hoarse. “Where did this come from?”
  • The lawyer answered carefully. “Your father didn’t steal it. He saved it. Quietly. Over time. Some of it was investment returns. Some were from old deals he never reported. It was meant for after. For when you needed to start over.”
  • Sienna stared at the number again. Then closed the folder slowly.
  • She didn’t want the money.
  • She wanted answers.
  • The elevator ride down was silent.
  • Sienna held the letter tightly in her coat pocket.
  • Adrian stood beside her, unreadable.
  • When the doors opened to the lobby, she walked ahead of him this time. Straight toward the car. The driver was already holding the door open.
  • She slid inside. Adrian followed.
  • Still, no words.
  • Finally, she spoke.
  • “I’m going to the cabin.”
  • “You shouldn’t go alone.”
  • “You’re not coming with me.”
  • Adrian looked at her. “It could be dangerous.”
  • “I don’t care.”
  • “I do.”
  • That stopped her.
  • She turned to him. “Why? Why do you care?”
  • He didn’t blink. “Because if something happens to you, everything I’ve built falls apart.”
  • The words hit her like a slap.
  • Right in the chest.
  • “Right,” she said softly. “Of course.”
  • She looked away. The car rolled forward.
  • They didn’t speak again until they reached the building.
  • Adrian stepped out first. Then paused.
  • When Sienna slid out behind him, he handed her a small black case.
  • “What’s this?” she asked.
  • “Protection.”
  • She opened it.
  • Inside was a compact satellite phone.
  • “No signal out there,” he said. “If something happens, call me. No one else.”
  • Sienna hesitated.
  • Then took it.
  • She didn’t thank him.
  • That night, she packed in silence. One bag. Light clothes. Her coat. The flash drive. The letter.
  • No jewelry. No makeup.
  • She left just before sunrise.
  • The driver Adrian sent was silent. Polite and didn’t ask questions.
  • She watched the city disappear in the rearview mirror.
  • The road stretched ahead.
  • And then—trees. Pine. Snow patches. An old wooden sign.
  • The lake, the cabin.
  • Still there, standing.
  • But something felt different.
  • She stepped out of the car, walked to the front door, and pushed it open.
  • It creaked.
  • She stepped inside and froze.
  • Because on the floor, just inside the doorway—
  • There were fresh footprints, and they didn’t belong to her.
  • Someone had gotten there first.
  • And Sienna had no idea if they were still inside.